Tasters @ Micro's

[normell]

Do most of these microbreweries have taste testers :blink:
Lately I've tried brews from Holgates, Buckleys, Mildura, Beechworth Brewerys & a "Bee Sting" from some SA mob, and to my taste buds, they leave a bloody lot to be desired :angry:
Compere them to the James Squire range, and there not in the race.
If they want to compete for the drinkers dollars, they really have to lift there game.
Maybe they all need to be told that it's not just a case of producing a liquid, putting into a fancy bottle & thrusting out into the market place.
Now I know I aint no expert brewer, but my ESB fresh wort brews are far better brews than some of these crap drinks

Flame suit on


Normell

 

[goatherder]

You might have a point normell, some of them aren't that great.

Micros have the added dimension of having to sell their beer to stay in business. Sometimes this doesn't mean making a great beer. As we've seen in today's thread "Are they scared of flavour" most of the beer drinking public wouldn't know a decent beer if it bit them on the arse. This is the reason you still see micros pumping out premium lagers and pilsners, more often than not with a catchy logo or name to sell it.

As homebrewers, we really only have one drinker to sell to. Micros need to keep the stock ticking over to stay in business. I think we are in a minor beer revolution, people are starting to learn. One day the micros will be able to produce the beer they want to produce and the public will buy it.

 

[hughman666]

that's a good point normell. i was actually thinking today "what can a micro do to make its mark?" pretty much all micros have the same range of beers out, ie pilsner/lager, pale ale, toekn strong one (ipa or porter) and a wheat.

if i was in the business of starting up a micro, what would i do to stand out from the rest? admittedly, there is still room for a few more quality micros, as a lot are pretty ordinary, but what else could be done? perhaps more of a focus away from the pilnser/lager and towards more of a flavoursome brew? one of the strengths of the bootleg in margaret river is that it has the raging bull porter as its flagship beer.

perhaps a micro that is not afraid of a healthy whack of hops and a good dose of malt, instead of joining the endless flock of micros using their average homebrewed pilsners as nothing more than a refreshment to accompany their overpriced pub food in their swanky micro brewery restaurants?

 

[BottleBitch]

I really think that you guys are missing the point, market forces are what drive the success or failure or any product, but with the case of micros we can always exist as a niche product, serving a small but loyal segment of the market. These guys make a product that they to the best of their abilities is what they consider to be the beer they think that they and many others will like to drink, many of these people where once home brewers that have now taken it a step further, I know that many may be making beers that leave a lot to be desired, but it all depends on your perception of what is good, and not everyone shares the same taste as you, just thank god for the good places you like and remember to buy their products and the rest will work its self out just fine.

 

[normell]

Exactly my point Herbstoffe, but if the liquid they produce, (it defiantly ain't beer), is worse than mega swill, why bother, they are only giving micro's a bad name.
The 2 Buckleys or none that I tried yesterday, pilz & porter were only good for a mouthful, then the sink.
Do the brewers have any knowledge of beer at all, I think not, they may have a background in wine production, & are trying to cash in on the boutique beer market as a side line.
I admit that some micro's are doing a real good job, creating some excellent, slightly different than the norm, beers, and I guess that the others will fall by the wayside, but turn a lot of people of beers in the mean time.

Normell

 

[Screwtop]

I believe most micro's are doing a pretty good job in a very tough scene, no matter the desires of the brewer to produce his favourite brew it is public perception of the product which will drive demand and acceptance.

Just take a look at the Crown Larger set, the Corona set, do I make my point. What is really needed most by all micros is marketing and market segment education. Eventually micros conform to brew beers more in line with what the market concieves to be acceptable, instead of educating the market in style variances and tastes, matching food to style and seasons and time of day to beer enjoyment. Armed with this knowledge and having tasted some great beers, just like us, they will soon be looking for something better than the up market megaswill they presently consume.

Micros need to be marketed as individual sources of high quality product. More the outlet than what they serve. Similar to the Irish bars of the past and the Belgian Beer Barns/Cafes in more present times. Most would not know what beers to expect or order at a Belgian Beer Cafe, they just know they have to try it, because they haven't and their friends have, and the advertising offers a point of difference in the delivery of liquor and food. The Brand needs to be MICRO BREWERIES, while all being slightly different they should be promoted as places to experience, for their individuality, it is the difference which needs promoting. Independently this undertaking would only be achievable at a local level, on a national scale it would be prohibitively expensive for any micro. Instead of all working independently like a thousand ants on a crumb pulling in different directions, micros need to form a national marketing arm, contributing to organise appreciations and tastings in major centres around the country, and use television food shows and regional tourism to appeal to the yuppy set, you only have to convince this market segment that micro is good and the rest will fall into line. So definitely no advertising using ocker types in Jacky Howes at the bar with barmaids in low cut tops pouring trays of glasses, you know what I mean! Micros should appear asthetically as comfortabe civilised places where the taste of the beer is importantly different and a must to experience. Soon the market would be looking for venues where their fav micro products are available and voila, demand.

OFF SOAPBOX!

 

[Sloth]

Good one Srewtop.

I'll second that all the way!

Sloth.

 

[normell]

I could not agree anymore, they have to establish their own niche market.
But surely they must taste some of these brews, & say "Thats crap, we can't try to sell that", or do they just say "Them suckers will only see the fancy bottle, and drink it anyway"
Maybe they are only trying to make megaswill more popular

 

[tangent]

see the "are they scared of flavour" thread
there's your answer. They're not brewing for brewers (and why would they, we make our own beer), they're brewing for Joe Public who actually hates the taste of beer, but it's cheaper than Midouri and Lemonade.

 

[Barry]

Good Day
I have thought for a long time that the average beer drinker does not like the taste of beer and the big breweries believe this too. However they and the micros realise that a small and growing number of drinkers appreciate beer.
The micro beers first discussed seem to be made poorly rather than being bland? A micro needs a mainstream style for the "flavour afraid" but that doesn't mean it can't be a good beer. This I believe.

 

[///]

Sounds like the Micro's have thier new Champion in Screw-Top - so does that mean your volunteering for the efforts of unification? Wait, you dont have time but to blurt out what folks should be doing....

To be honest, are you missing the point. If you think the Macro's hate the Micro's your sillier than you look, the whole market is growing. To think that some folks in micro's are educated brewers with production sensibilities, well .....

Scotty

 

[Stuster]

If you think the Macro's hate the Micro's your sillier than you look, the whole market is growing.

Are you really suggesting that the macros don't hate all/any competition? Like any large corporation, they are interested in increasing their market share. That the market is growing does not mean they are happy for competition. Sure, they don't hate micros, but they will do what they can to get people to buy their beer, rather than a micro's (or another macros) beers.

 

[Jim_Levet]

Silence from the micro-brewers that lurk around here?

 

[berapnopod]

Couple of things for my 2c worth:

Normell, can you be more descriptive about what was wrong with those beers? Were they poorly made with infection problems? Recipes that are out of balance? Just bland? Something else?

My guess is they're just bland, in which case the micros are doing what they intended. Trying to get a profitable share of the market by appealing to the widest audience possible.

But that's the problem right there! Each brewer is trying to get a small slice of the same cake. That cake being the beer thats a little different from the mainstream (but not too different) - that's NOT a niche market. What I would like to see is a micro open up that doesn't want a slice of that cake at all, but wants to create a whole new cake of consumers that like the taste of something completely different. Thats a big step to take and with your livelihood on the line I am not suprised nearly all brewers don't want to do it. Who knows what the market is like if you open up a Belgian style brewery (for example)?

Well, I can think of a couple of examples where brewers have crossed over the line. So, if you're thinking about opening up another micro and are worried about whether the beers you like are going to sell enough to make a business out of it, go and talk to Grand Ridge and see if their Moonshine/Supershine sells, or go and talk to Redoak and see if their funkier beers are selling? I bet you they're cleaning up with them at the moment and doing everything they can to keep it quiet.

Could be wrong though

Berp.

 

[homebrewworld.com]

Are you really suggesting that the macros don't hate all/any competition? Like any large corporation, they are interested in increasing their market share. That the market is growing does not mean they are happy for competition. Sure, they don't hate micros, but they will do what they can to get people to buy their beer, rather than a micro's (or another macros) beers.


Or do the Macros just continue to 'buy out' the micro when they pose a threat to the dollar $?

J.S
H.Premium
Coopers etc etc

 

[hughman666]

Thats a big step to take and with your livelihood on the line I am not suprised nearly all brewers don't want to do it.

yep and look at the micros that have done it - bootleg put their foot forward with the raging bull and little creatures with the LCPA. both have become iconic beers because:

a) they are well produced and great quality product
B) there was nothing else around at the time to rival them

now it's time for someone else to step up and take it forward again. for example, 5 micros in the swan valley all doing the same thing is a great example of just churning it out for the sake of trying to capture the share of the micro market (upmarket food, shiny SS brewery on display) without actually focusing on the beer. there is no new flavour or anything distinctive in any of them.

i long for the day when we see a unique beer emerge that tickles the imagination of the beer consumer like LCPA & raging bull did.

 

[djackal]

From my perspective (I sell over 200 different beers at the retail outlet that I work at and have easily stocked over 300 over the last 12 months) there are enough consumers out there looking for quality beer to try, though the majority are happy with bland watery brews. Ferals' White Beer has a good niche and I believe, though not a Blanche de Chambly, is a good honest white beer.

Unfortunately the rest of the micros (and I don't consider Creatures a micro no more) appear to lack that something that would encourage an educated beer drinker to chose over an Imported equivalent. The James Squire, Coopers and even Hahn Pale Ale are all good examples of brands that appear to provide better quality products then the bulk of Australian micros.

The onus is on the micros to produce classic and original drops that inspire drinkers. Otherwise they will remain a novelty that generate very little in the way of economic profits to the owners.

 

[///]

I am a micro brewer with my plant going thru usual hoops. And being in the market, the .7% that is the Micro's are not a concern to the majors.

micro's increase interest in beer in general, and the majors have been extremly supportive of the various Brewers Guilds particuarly NSW. we are all brewers and not wine makers or such.

So, its all this nasty competitive stuff between brewers is froth in your glass i'm afraid.

Scotty

 

[berapnopod]

With regards to competition and micros vs macros, I think both HBW.C and Scotty are right
The situation appears to me that macros generally don't worry about micros because they really are a different market, and the size of micros' share is so disproportionately small that the macros don't perceive any competition.

But once a micro gets to Coopers or JS scale, then there are real concerns from the macros.
And real action, as we saw with Lion Nathan and Coopers last year.

Berp.

 

[Randall the Enamel Animal]

Silence from the micro-brewers that lurk around here?

Some interesting points here. I've brewed now at three micro and one large craft brewery and have my own set of thoughts, but I am really excited about how the craft beer industry is developing and I believe that in Australia, right now, it's beer time. We're about 20 years behind the US scene, but it's going forward now at a rate and with a momentum that can't be stopped. It's beer time.

Look out for new players doing different stuff and having business models that don't rely on litreage alone, freeing the brewer to do his/her own thing. Good stuff.

Oh, and Hughmann, get down for a 'Gully Washer' before it's gone. It thumped 'Bull' at the AIBA winning two best in class trophies...